Homemade woodblock printing press part 2

Well after breakfast this morning I went and checked the glued in plug and found the glued dry. Time to mix up some concrete!

So I got my sawhorses clear and then laid some 2x4's over them and then put the threaded rod with washers and nut into the plug. I then used some silicone sealant to make sure no concrete leaked out the bottom.

Then I stood up both tubes on the 2x4's and then used some clamps to keep the threaded rod from falling through to the floor.

I got out a five gallon plastic bucket and started mixing up small batches of concrete by hand so that I could control the "stiffness" of the concrete. I did not want it too sloppy because that would be too much water and it would take forever to cure.

Tubes ready to be filled.

 
Here I am getting ready to dump concrete into the first tube. I used a small gardening shovel to get small amounts of the concrete into the tubes.

As the concrete is added I used a small stick to make sure that there were no voids in the concrete and that it was well mixed together. Once the tube was 1/3 filled with concrete I took the clamp off the top of the threaded rod.

Once the tube was filled I trial fitted the remaining end plug and removed a little concrete until the plug fit without any leakage. Then using the remaining washer and 5/8 inch nut I screw it down until it would not go any farther and was quite snug. I then got the square out and using a hammer adjusted the plug until it was square to the sides.  I then did the same to the other tube.

And now we wait till tomorrow when I will start on the gear section of my work.

Homemade woodblock printing press part 1

So I could not find a old proof press or anything else to do my woodblock prints. Time to make my own press,

Here is the idea that I'm going to work from. Here someone used a length of PVC sewer pipe, make wooden caps for the ends. They attached one of the caps added the 5/8ths threaded rod to hold the ends on. They then stood it on end and filled it with concrete for weight, and added the remaining cap and used the threaded rod and nuts and washers to force the remaining cap into place.

I was going to do the same till I realized that I need a printing bed of 2 feet wide and 4 feet long. That will make this design hard to use since you need to use both hands to push the heavy roller back and forth.

My prints need to be much bigger and I will not be able to use both arms. So... I will do a different design using the same principles, but using gears.

First I must create the heavy cylinder. A neighbor hood friend had some 2 plus feet of 6 inch PVC sewer pipe that he gave me in exchange for a print or two when its all done. Using the band-saw I trimmed them up as square as I could. Table saw was useless at this task.

Then using the ends of the tubes I traced out the plugs that will seal the tubes and keep the concrete all in place. With the band-saw set for a 10 degree angle I cut out the plugs.

Trial fit the plugs on both tubes and matched and numbered the ones that fit the best for both tubes.

Purchased 5/8 inch treaded rod with washers and nuts for this project so now time to find the middle of the plugs and then drill a 5/8 inch hole in each of the plugs.

5/8 inch threaded rod

Drilled holes with my cheap drill press

Then using an industrial glue I started to apply glue to one plug for the first tube and then inserted it.

Tapped it down with a hammer till it was snug and then using a carpenters square I made sure that the plug was 90 degrees flush with the long side of the tube.

You have to use a hammer to set the plug snug and make sure everything is square. Now that that was done I needed to dress the glue clean up and wait till the glue hardens for the next step.

Hot rod pickup trucks in Austin. How Texan can you get?

I think I have a new series of woodcut prints for guys coming out when I get home.

Update on some of the prints.

I decided to add some color to two of the plane prints. What do you think?

San Jose Mission in San Antonio

Mission shot at San Jose Mission in San Antonio. 

I'm feeling a woodblock print coming on.

Gone for three weeks down south.

Well I needed to refresh and get away from all the snow. So down south we went!

Did the Whiskey tour. That was fun.

Then down to New Orleans for Easter.

Makers Mark Whiskey tour.

Easter Parade in New Orleans

Our Boo all bling'ed out.

Getting close to having too many home made printing press's.

So my friends Cara and Ben are out antiquing this morning while I'm freezing my butt off working in the garage working on my cheap and dirty gravity printing press.

They send me a photo of an old large box camera vertical adjuster and ask me if this would work as a printing press. $43.00 bucks! Dang right it will and the traveling bed is 12" x 28". Sweet! Now I just have to rig up an adjustable top roller to apply pressure and then turn the crank!

I will continue to work on my cheap and dirty gravity printing press's since its designed to print plates just under 2 x 4 FEET.

In the mean time I will work on both types of presses. 

Above is what they saw at the antique store this morning.

Here I took off all the bits that I didn't need

Here you can see the bed that moves back and forth when you turn the crank. Super!

Now I just have to add a top roller to apply pressure like from this picture and I have a printing press.

Well I had to give up on this one and toss the block.

Well I had to toss this woodblock print. After washing off the ink and rinsing it off with soap and water too many times..... the MDF fibers swelled up and filled all the cut lines and the last proof was all fuzzy.

Guess that I will have to figure out how to seal the MDF in between proofs or get the print done in one state.

Back to the drawing board for another subject!

Way to fuzzy!! Scratched the plate with a chisel. Done and done.

For all my Geek Friends! Here is a short version of the computer build.

Here is the case with the old mother board etc. on the wood block carving table.

Here is the cover off to show whats in side. A rats nest of cables and junk.

Lay it on its side and start to take all the old stuff out.

I number my Sata cables since they have to go back into the new mother board in the same way as the old. Keeps me sane and reminds me of changing the spark plugs and wires on my Mustang.

I then use the manual for the new mother board to number the Sata connectors so I can keep track of them.

 Time to put the new AMD A10 CPU and heat sink into the new mother board.

Then I add the memory while the motherboard is not in the case and use the anti-static bag to not punch holes in my fingers from the thru hole parts with sharp bits sticking out of the bottom.

All the good stuff is in and almost ready to put in the old case.

Pop out the old back panel filler and put in the new one for the new motherboard.

After that I put the new motherboard into the case and since it is smaller than the old one I will have to move around the screw standoffs that are used to secure the motherboard into the computer case.

Here is what the case looks like with no motherboard.

I use a pencil in the holes in the motherboard so that I can then put the standoffs in the right place. Quick cheap trick.

Here is one of the standoff that have to be moved.

 Now that the motherboard is all in and screwed down. We get to attach and tuck away all those ugly cables.

Cables all connected and tucked away from fans etc., funny that this mother board uses less cables than the last one.

 Now to re-install Windows 7 and then restore from my backup disk and off we go!!

Heads up! Computer going down for mother board upgrade today.

Well its time for a new motherboard. The old dual core CPU would not take Windows 7, Photoshop, Chrome browser and iTunes running all at once. Memory is maxed out most of the day and it takes too long to do anything.

So here is what is going in the computer case!

This should help things out!!

First state of MiG 15 - 17 x 13 inches.

Got to love the old jets too! 

The Russian MiG-15 was one of the first successful swept-wing jet fighters, and it achieved fame in the skies over Korea, where early in the war, it outclassed all straight-winged enemy fighters in most applications. The MiG-15 is believed to have been the most widely produced jet aircraft ever made, with over 12,000 built. The MiG-15 is often mentioned along with the North American F-86 Sabre as among the best fighter aircraft of the Korean War and in comparisons with fighters of other eras.

First state of MiG 15 - 17 x 13 inches.

Polikarpov I-16 is done!

Well here is the third and final state of the Polikarpov I-16 woodblock print.

Polikarpov I-16 - Woodblock print - 18 x 10 inches

New work and images. USS Politics, aground

Well I've been working hard and have some images to share.

I should not read the paper and watch news but it does have an effect on what I create.

First State of - USS Politics, aground - 20 x 12 inches 

I will post the rest of my proofs later.

Looking for a simple and cheap Proof Press!

OK! Here is a call out for anyone that can help me out.

This is a strange question but... I'm looking for a Morgan Co Line-O-Scribe sign printing press. Or a low cost Proofing press. Looking to spend $200 to $300.

I need one to do my woodblock prints. An etching press would be nice but they are often to big, heavy and very expensive.

A lot of grocery stores used Line-O-Scribes to print their own signage. I found one in Alabama but .... shipping will cost more than the printing press. ($200.00 for the press, set up and letters)

Any help would be appreciated. (Yes I've checked Craigs list, EBay etc..)

BTW there is one for sale on EBay but they want over $3 grand for it. Crazy, it's been for sale for over 6 months for a reason. :-)

I'm located in Rochester New York and since proof presses are rather heavy I would have to drive out and pick it up if anyone can help me find one. Shipping would cost more than the press! So NY, NJ, PA, OH would be OK if its within a days drive from here.

Thanks!

Here is a pic of what a Line-O-Scribe it looks like.